Of mistakes and guilt
by Aimwolf
Summary: T.J made two mistakes, one was pulling another prank on King Bob, the other one however turned his and the other lives upside down and they get a rude wake-up call. T.J is overtaken by guilt after someone gets badly hurt.
1. Chapter 1

T.J was hiding after the tree, his walkie-talkie in his hand. It has been a while he pulled a good prank on King Bob and the former Prankster Prince was a good target to practice on. The last prank he was able to pull on the playground leader, after a series of not so successful attempts, was a simple whoopie cushion prank.

T.J was not a cruel pranker and often only pranked the kids who deserved a little lesson and the last few days, King Bob also needed a little reminder that he was just a kid like the rest of them. For some unknown reason he was a bit more presumptuous now and that did him or anyone on the playground no good. For example, he had expanded the sixth grade territory, meaning that the other grades could suddenly not play in the places they first had access to. Lucky enough, after some pushing from their side (and, to T.J surprise, even from his two advisers), King Bob lifted that decision. But his character hasn't changed much, so Detweiler decided with the gang that it was time for a good prank again.

Now, this time it would be a bit more luxurious than last time, something that would get enough attention. Of course, the whoopie cushion prank also got a lot of attention, but that was because everyone was already gathered around the jungle gym and he had used a microphone. No, this prank would make people turn their heads.

The idea was simple, in the tree he was standing next to was a cord hanging. Which of course was connected to a bucket with a little surprise in it. A beautiful mixture of paint, made by Gretchen and Spinelli, just the right amount for an amazing artwork he was about to create. Now, he didn't expect King Bob to pull the cord. So, the only thing his victim needed to do was getting under the tree.

And that plan, that was the biggest part of the whole prank. It was a warm day and he was sure King Bob would love some shadow. And what a coincidence, T.J had set up the perfect relaxing place right under the tree. A lounger, with a refreshing drink standing right next to it and a bag of chips. The perfect bait for someone who wanted to relax.

His friends were busy making sure no one else would make use of it and to tell him when Bob would come. That last one took longer that T.J hoped, he was sure the King would make his round sooner, but he finally heard Gus voice shouting through his walkie-talkie.

"He's coming! He's coming!''

That was enough information for T.J, he hid better behind the tree and listened to the sound of footsteps coming his way. He had already seen that the King was walking on his own, with his two advisers following him from behind. The footsteps stopped. "Someone just left this here?'' asked King Bob, T.J heard a suspicious tone in his voice and held his breath in the hope that King Bob really wouldn't notice him.

"It looks like that, my liege'' Jordan's reply came. It was silent for a few seconds, before King Bob talked again. "Well, I am happy someone provided such a good place for me''. Yes, this was going the right way. More footsteps and then the creaking sound of the lounger. T.J was holding the cord in his hand, but decided to wait a few seconds for a better surprise. Perhaps he shouldn't.

"Hey, there is a bucket up here''

Oh, no. Time to pull that cord. But right when T.J pulled it, making the bucket with paint, Bob didn't take any risk and quickly stood up to jump away from the lounger. Well, the paint still hit his target. But only on the shoulder and slightly on the back. Most of it landed on the ground. With paint dripping from him, the king had seen Detweiler by now and he wasn't looking too happy. Perhaps this was a good time to go.

"Well, I see you later, Sire!'' T.J blurted before getting his legs to good use.

"Jerome, get him!'' King Bob's hollering command went over the playground, what was what made everyone turn their heads. The lackey didn't wait any second after getting that order and began the pursue. Of course, T.J had a head start, but he was pretty sure Jerome was a bit faster and it wouldn't take long before he was caught up.

He needed a plan to escape. Hopefully something would come up soon enough.

While they were running over the grass, the cheering from the other students kept him going on and he waved at a few onlookers, as if he was just running a race. Spinelli and Vince were shouting with excitement, giving him an extra boost.

Somehow he managed to stay out Jerome's hands, but his pursuer didn't give up that easily and was coming very close. Not daring to turn, T.J ran out the exit, onto the sidewalk. Now he was able to turn and quickly he went right. For a little while they were running next the school, but T.J was now really starting to run out of breath. He needed a break. Looking to the road next to him, he saw a minivan coming from afar. He got a plan.

T.J knew he would have enough time to cross the street before the van would come, but Jerome would have to wait for sure. Which should give T.J some more time and hopefully he could get to Kelso's on his last breath. There he could maybe hide. It was a risk, but it was always worth to try.

Alright, time to cross the street.


	2. Chapter 2

p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"Without thinking too much about it, he took his change and got to the other side, with the van still on a safe distance. He wanted to keep going on, straight to Kelso's. But in his eye corner he saw something happening he didn't expect. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"Jerome did cross the street, too caught up in following the order he got. Yet the van was now a lot closer than first. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"It was strange, in reality it only took a few seconds maybe, but in his memory T.J saw it happen much slower. But he was also slower. Too slow and the van was too fast. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"The sound of screeching tires as the chauffeur hit the brakes mixed with a long and awfully loud honking noise, but none of it mattered. Jerome didn't even have time to look around and see it coming. Was he even aware? What was his last thought?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"All of it was only in a few seconds. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"The smack followed soon after and on that moment T.J felt a fear he never felt before. Jerome, or maybe only his body, flew through the air, almost as a ragdoll a child threw away, before hitting the ground, motionless. The door of the van flew open and a man in his forties jumped out, looking so pale it almost seemed he was sick, his head was gleaming from the sweat. T.J just watched him running towards the body on the ground, not being able to move himself. He heard sounds from the playground at the other side of the road, louder than they should be. How many of them saw it happen, how many were looking that way? /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"People came out their houses and for some reason, now everything was suddenly moving faster than first. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"A woman was kneeling besides Jerome's body, holding two fingers somewhere on his neck. For a moment she felt, before nodding to the others that had gathered. "It's faint'' T.J heard her say. Now he could move again, there was a heartbeat. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe everything would still be okay. With his legs still heavy, he walked over, he wanted to see it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"When the bodies weren't blocking his vision anymore, his legs started shaking. His skin felt cold, but sweat was dripping from his body. It was too late, T.J knew it was too late. Soon that faint heartbeat would be gone. There was too much blood. And the body, it already didn't look like the older boy that was just chasing him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"Someone grabbed him, two big hands. "Come with me, boy'' a deep voice told him. Prickly. T.J listened and the principal led him away it all. Back to the school. T.J just walked, not seeing the children that were watching him. Including his friends. He didn't even hear the bell, which rang too early. The only thing he heard was the smack. Over and over again. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"It played in his head, as if he was watching a video and it just kept rewinding. Other children also went inside, much slower than normally. Talking with each other. Their teachers walked with them and also Miss Grotke with her class. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"She watched T.J being led away to Prickly's office, wondering for a moment if she should follow, but she knew the rest of her class needed her. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"It was silent inside the classroom, they were looking outside. From the window you could see the commotion on the street, even if it was not that good. They wanted to see what was happening. Grotke understood that, but they needed distraction now. They needed to talk. Not about class today. Her students deserved to know what they wanted to know, although she wasn't sure how much of their questions she could answer. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;""Everyone please go to your tables'' she softly said and watched as her students obeyed. "Miss Grotke'' Mikey asked, gaining everyone's attention. His teacher just nodded. "What's going to happen now?''. A simple question, but perhaps the most difficult right now. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;""They're going to bring Evans to the hospital'' she simply told him, perhaps just telling what she knew for sure was enough. Apart from a few, her students looked confused at her. Oh, yes. Most of them probably didn't know Jerome by his surname. "They're bringing Jerome to the hospital'' she explained, deciding that just using his first name was better anyways. As she said that, the faint sound of an ambulance became louder. No one looked out the window. Maybe they were too scared. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;""Where's T.J?'' Gus asked as he looked at the door, like he expected his friend to open it and walk inside. "By Prickly, they will talk with him'' Grotke stopped for a moment, looking at Detweiler's close friends. "I'll see if you can talk to him later, if you want''. At this moment she was sure that her student needed the support of his friends. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"The rest of the lesson, she was going to use for history, they spend talking about what happened and what everyone saw. Grotke tried to explain as much as possible and was open in her answers. Until a question of Spinelli came, a question more wanted to ask but didn't dare. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;""What if he dies?'' /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"They all fell silent, thinking about that 'what if'. Miss Grotke as well, but she would admit she rather didn't think about it. In her time of working here never had a student died and she was always thankful for that. She hoped it would never happen, but now she wasn't sure about it anymore. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"And what would happen if he passed away? So much things she couldn't tell because she didn't know it herself either. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;""I'm not sure'' she admitted. "But let's stay strong together now'' she encouraged her students. They just nodded silently, still wondering about everything that had happened and could still happen. Only Vince spoke; "Can we see T.J?''. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"Grotke gave him her permission and looked outside as the five friends left the classroom, the ambulance had his siren activated again and sped away, fast to lose no time. /span/p 


End file.
